Ice-cream cutter



Feb. 9, 1926 REICHEL ET M I ICE CREAM GUTTER Filed April 5. 1922 2sheets-'sheet 1 LTLXATLFIL: il.

Feb. 9 ,1926. I 1;572,36 3

, H. REICHEL ET AL ICE CREAM CUTTER Filed April 5. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet2' IRI/6.727275 f 0 jezce] Zmm/ze.

Patente-d F eb. 9, 1926.

Unire stares .ement oFFicE.

HUGO REICHEL ANI) WILLIAM Il. NIES, GFYCHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ICE-CREAM CUTTER.

Application led April 5, 1922. Serial No. 549,788.

North Ashland Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, have invented a certain new anduseful lin-v proveinent in Ice-Cream Cutters, of which the following; isa specification. `v

Cnr invention relates to an apparatus for cutting blocks of plasticmaterial, and is particularly applicable to the separation of butter orice cream into a large number of small blocks or squares. It has for oneobject to provide means for reducing; a large block of ice cream orsimilar plastic 1naterial, by one operation, into a large number ofblocks of the proper size to pack and i sell. It has for a furtherobject toprovide a machine of the type above described which shall beparticularly adaptable for quick Figure 5 is a section lon the line 5 5of Figure l.

Like parts are represented by like letters and numbers throughout thedrawings.

A is a supporting' base of any suitable form, which is provided with aflat upper surface or surfaces A. Upwardly projectinfr from one sidethereof are the supports n: n?, from which projects laterally atransverse element A3 spaced substantially above the surface A. butoverhangingit, and terminating in a plurality of perpendicularbearingelements A4 which are faced with wood blocks A5 and are separatedby the pockets fr having narrow vertical mouths A7.

At both ends of the base are the upwardly projecting,` supporting' postsB B providing CII vthe guide plates B4 Bt'.

the similar rectangular openings B2 to per? init the passagetherethrough of the material to be cut. The upper inner surfaces arerabbeted as at B3 B3 to provide guide ways adapted to receive the endsC2 C3 of the knife supporting' element C4 which is provided with acentral, vertically, projecting, reinforcing` rib C5. The knifesupporting element C4 is retained in the guide ways by Projecting fromthe ends C2` C3 are the lugs D D to which are secured the racks VD2 D3,which are supported ion pinions D4 D5 keyed tothe driving shaft D6,which is rotatably inounted'in any suitable manner, as, for example` inthe end posts B- B. The racks may be kept in position against thepinions, as, for example, by the overhanfrinplugs D9 D10. The pinionsare actuated eithery through the gear D keyed to the shaft D, which maybe connected Vwith any suitable power source not shown or by the manualcrank D12 keyed to the end of the shaft.

The lower surface of C4r is broken by a series of flat bottom opening-sor slots Eone side, E of each of which is perpendicular and the otherside E2 is inclined. Bolts ElV are screw-threaded to penetrate throughthe upper surface of C4 and into the slots,where they rotatably engagethe wedge blocks E4,

which have inclined sides E5 in opposition to the inclined sides E2 ofthe slots, and vertical sides E6 in opposition to the vertical sides Eof the slots, the blocks being of smaller width than the inside oftheslots.

rlhe rotation of the bolts E3 serves to wedge the'blocks against theinclined sides of the slot and against the knife blades F, which areinserted into the slots between the` opposed vertical slot and blockwalls. rllhese knife elements each comprise an inclined cutting' orblade portion F and a. reark rounded portion F2, the lowerinost portionof the knife blade terminating` at a point spaced substantially abovethe surface A.

At the right end of the gang; knife, as

shown in sie". 2, is a descending, pin G,

which is adapted to engage al'ug G on a slide or stop G2 which isslidably mounted at the right end of the base, as shown inr Figs. 1 and2. This stop or slide is slotted, as at C3, to engage a bolt G4, and ispron vided with yielding means G5 adapted to rey turn it to normalposition when the gang knife has been withdrawn.

' without departing from the spirit ofy our invention. lVe wish,therefore that our; drawings be taken as m a sense diagram-y matic.

The use and operation of our .invention are as follows: l

Heretofore it has been the custom to sepaate large blocks of ice creaminto smaller blocks by feeding the block forward into a cutting zone andcutting off slicesfrom it4 one by one-that is to say, for each `cut theblock Awas fed forward to position forthe succeeding cut. The presentapparatus' and process provide for the simultaneous severing of theblock into a number of pieces, and the apparatuspermits of this processbeing carried on continuously, since tlie large blocks ofice cream arefed into the machine at one end and are removed from it at the other.This has been illust vated as a large-y ly manual process, but itisobvious that the bricks could be put on -a mechanical carrier andcarried through the cutting zone by a step-by-step motion, the entireprocess thus being made mechanical and automatic.

le illustrate a cutter having a flat base, `on the flat upper surface ofwhich may bey placed any suitable block or board on which is laid thelarge brick from which the smaller bricks are to be cut. It will beunderstood that in prevailing' practice ice cream is prepared in a largebrick, possibly as much as twoY feet in length. This brick maybeloosened from the forni in which it is frozen, as, for example, byheating the form with hot water, and the brick is then dropped upon aboard or plate. This plate, with the brick in position thereon, is slidover the flat base of the machine, being inserted fromy the left, asshown in Fig. l, through the opening in the end wall. 'The brick isloose on the board, being kept iny position thereon simply by frictonalcon-V tact. The stop at thev opposite end of the machine limits theforward motion'of the brick and when the brick is in positionthereagainstfthe operator, who 4has manually linserted the board,` willpush it no *farther ln inserting the board and brick he preferably seesthat' the right side of the brick vlies close to the series of stopsshown at, `the, lbottom of Figi. These stops, as shown in Fig. 3, clearthe board, so the boardmay, if necessary, be shoved there- `knifeelements just clearing the board.

, quently used.

under to position the brick, and the end stop Aalso clears this board;and when the brick is thus positioned the operator is ready to performthe cutting operation. r1`he gang knife is in position as shown at thetop of Fig. l, and at the left of Fig. 3. The operator can either turnon the power, if he .is using a power-driven machine, or he can turnthel crank if he is using a manual machine, and the pinions connectedthereto mesh with the racks which are connected to either end of thegang knife. The knife is thus drawn across the machine and against thebrick, the lower edges of the various The knives are drawn all the wayacross through the brick and into the receiving hollows between andbehind the stops at the opposite side of the machine, in order entirelyto clear the path of the brick, for removal after the cutting.

A downwardly projecting stop or pin at the right end of the gang knife,as shown in Fig. ,1, engages an outwardly projecting member on the stopand withdraws it, thus further clearing the path for removal of theboard and the cut4 brick, which may then be slid out of the machine atthe opposite end. Any suitable means-foi' example, a springmay beprovided for returning the end stop to position when the gang knivesarewithdrawnto the opposite side of the machine inereadiness for thenext cutting operation.

rlhe various elements of the gang Vknife are removable and adjustable bymeans of the wedge and nut shown in Fig. 5, the. opposed inclined sidesof the wedge and pocket serving to clamp the knife between the oppositeopposed straight sides when the bolt is rotated.

The simplicity and ease of use of this niachine renders it an yenormousimprovement of the machines of the past, and over unguided manualmethods which are so fre- The bricks are fed forward into the machine'and cut on the same board from which they are dropped fioin the slabmoulds. The slab from which the bricks are cut is automaticallyregistered in relation to the knives, since it is necessary simply topush the board forward until the slab contacts the end stop. The knivesthemselves will push the slab against the side stops although theoperator will generally move the board and brick in proper relationthereto. All the careful registry of slab and cutting knives which ischaracteristic of earlier processes, is avoided and the slab may lieanywhere on the cutting board which of course, passes `freely` over thehanging side stop. The register stop disappears during the machine. Alarge number ot bricks may be cut at each stroke, although but 'towmoving parts are used, the most important ot' which are the shat't andthe knife carrying;l slide. rl`he bricks may be cut without any n'ianualhandling ot the slab or bricks. The knives are designed to give ashearing` cut, thus eliminating tearing` action when nuts and `truit arecontacted. The knives are so mounted as to permit instant. removal orreplacement. The cut is made through the slab in one direction and thecut slab is pushed 4forward out ot the way betere the return stroke.thns e-lin'iinating tearing' or shearing' ot the corners ot the brickscut it'roiu the slab. Since there are no delicate parts ot' the machine,it cannot get ont ot order` and it is easily kept clean and sanitary, itcan be cleaned by mere hose flushing.

lVhile this machine has been described particularly in connection withpreparing' bricks ot ice cream tor consumption trom the large blocks inwhich it 4is frozen, it is obvious that this device may beF nsed torcutting` a variety of relatively plastic suhstances, such as butter,clay and the like, and we do not limit ourselves to any partienlar use.

lVe claim:

l. A machine for cutting masses ot plastic material, comprising' ainarterial-supportino' base, a materill-engaging element aligned along'one side thereof, a plurality ot cutting' elen'ients andrneans tordiawimgl them horizontally `across said base and into saidmaterial-engaging element and out ci line with the material cut, saidelement be* ing recessed to receive said cutting;` elements, a terminalstop adapted to engage the material to be cut and means forwithdrawingiv said stop in unison with the civittino; excursion vot thecutting elements.

2. A machine for cutting masses of plastic material, coniprisingil amaterial-supporting' base, .a material-engagingil element aligned along'one side thereot, a plurality oi cutting elements and means ior drawing`them across said base and into said n'iaterialengaging element, saidelement being recessed to a depth suiicient to admit the entire lengthof said cutting elements, a. terminal stop adapted to engage thematerial to be cut and means tor withdrawing it in unison with thecutting' excursion ot' the cutting' elements.

3. A machine 'tor cutting;` masses ot plastic material, comprising' amaterialsnpporting' base, a material-engaging element aligned along' oneside thereof, a plnrality ot cutting elements and means tor dra-wingthem across said base and into said ma termi-engaging element, saidelement being recessed to receive said cutting' elements, a terminalstop adapted to engagey the material to be cut and means `forwithdrawing it in unison with the cutting' excursion ot the cuttingvelements, con'iprising` a. pin in connection witlrsaid cutting' elementsand a lug` on the terminal stop adapted to be engaged thereby.

t. A machine for cutting masses ot plas tic material, comprising amaterial-supporting base, a materialengaging element aligned along oneside thereof,V a plurality ci cntting elements and means `for drawingthem across said base and into said materialengaging element, saidelement being recessed to a depth sulticient to admit the entire lengthoit sarid cutting' elements, a ter-v minal stop adapted to engage thematerial to be ont and means for withdrawing" it in unison withthecuttingj excursion ot the cutting elements. comprising a pin inconnection with said cutting' elements and a lug on the terminal stopadapted to be engaged 'there' by.

5. A machine for cutting' masses yof plastic material, comprising amaterial-supporting' base, a material-engaging element aligned alone oneside thereof, a plurality of cuttingl elements and means for drawing'ythem across said base and into said materialengaging element, saidelement being recessed to receive said cutting elements, a terminal stopadapted to 'engage the ma terial to be cnt ano moans tor withdrawing itin unison `with the cnttingr eacnrsionoif the cutting elen'ients,comprisingiav pin in connection with said cutting'. elements and a lng'on thefterminal stoprv adapted to be engaged thereby, and automaticn'ieans l'tor re turning' the terminalstop to position `when the cnttingelements are withdrawn.

6. A machine tor cutting` masses ot plas tic material, comprising" amaterial-sup@ portino' base, a material-engaging' element alignedalong'one side thereof, a plurality' of cutting' elements and means 'fordrawing` them across said base and into said material-engaging' element,said element being' recessed to a depth sniiicient vto admit the entirelength ot said cutting' elements, a terminal stopI adapted to `engagethe material to be cnt and means for withdrawing '1t in unison with thecutting' excursion of the cutting'elements, con'iprising a pin inconnection with said cutting' elements and a lun' on the terminal stopadapted to be engaged thereby, and automatic means tor retnrnino' theterminal stog to position` when the cn ving' elements are withdrawn.

''.ln a machine tor cutting plastic ma"V terialsa supporting" base, amaterial-engaging' clementl along' one side thereof, a gang' knife, thematcrisi-engaging' element beine,I slotted 'to receive the blades of thegang' knife, and means :tor ldrawing the gang knife across the base andinto the material engaging"element comprising' a drive shaft, pinionsthereon, and racks-attached to the gang knife and in engagement with thepinions.

8. In a machine for cutting plastic materials, a supporting base, amaterial-engaging element along one side thereof, a gang knife, thematerial-engaging element being slotted to receive the blades of theknife, and means for ldrawing the gang knife across the base and intothe materialengaging element comprising a drive shaft, pinions thereon,and racks attached to the gang knife and in engagement with the pinions,and a terminal stop adapted to engage the material and meansforwithdrawing it in unison with the gang knife.

9. In a gang knife foi` cutting` ice cream, a slotted body element, saidslots having vertical sides on one side and inclined sides ontheopposite side, wedge blocks adapted to fit in said slots, each blockhaving a vertical side in opposition to the vertical side ofthe slot andan inclined side in opposition to the inclined side of the slot, knifeelements adapted to be inserted between the opposed vertical sides', andmeans for drawing said wedge blocks into said slots to clamp said knivesin position.

10. In a gang knife for cutting ice cream, a slotted body element, saidslots `having vertical sides on one side and inclined sides on theopposite side, wedge blocks adapted to fit in said slots, each blockhaving a vertical side in opposition to the vertical side of the slotand an inclined side in opposition to the inclined side of the slot,knife elements adapted to be inserted between the opposed verticalsides, and means for drawing said wedge blocks into said slots to clampsaid knives in position comprising rotatable elements in screw-threadedrelation with said blocks.

ll. A machine forcutting masses of plastic material, comprising asupporting base, a stop along one side thereof, a stepk across theendthereof, a plurality of cutting elements adapted to be drawnhorizontally across said base, and through said side Vstop and out ofline with the plastic material, and

`means for withdrawing said end stop in (Sti response to the movement ofsaid cutting elements.

l2. A machine for cutting masses of plastic material, comprising asupporting base, a stop along one side thereof, a stop across the endthereof, a plurality of cutting elements adapted to be drawn across saidbase,A and means for withdrawing saidend stop in response tothe movementof Vsaid cutting elements, the bottoms of said stops being spacedsubstantially7 above the supporting base. p

13. An ice cream cutting machine adapted to receive and cutl a slab ofice cream mounted upon a movable support, comprising` a substantiallyplane surfaced base, a substantially vertical, slab engaging stop alongone side of said base, a plurality of spaced blades mounted above saidbase and means for drawing them in unison across said base, through saidslab and through said stop,

said stop being spaced substantially above' means for drawing them inunison across said base, through said slab and through said stop, saidstop being spaced substantially above the upper surface of the sup-`porting base, said blades terminating at a distance above the baseslightly greater than the thickness of the movable slab support, aterminal stop and means for withdrawing it in response to movement ofthe blades.

l5. An ice cream cutting machine comprising a fixed supporting base, asupporting element adapted to be positioned thereupon, a cream engagingstop along one side of said supporting base, a plurality of downwardlyprojecting,spaced blades positioned above-'the fixed supporting base andadapted to clear the movable supporting base, and means for drawing themin unison through the ice cream, the stop being slotted to permit theirpassage therethrough.

lG. An ice cream cutting machine comprisinga supporting base, a creamengaging stop along one side thereof, a plurality of downwardlyprojecting spaced blades positioned above the supporting base, and meansfor drawing them 'in unison through the ice cream, the stop beingslotted to permit their passage therethrough, said knives tei'-inii'iating at a point substantially above the base of said machine.

17. An ice cream rcutting machine comprising a fixed supporting base, asupport- Vingelement adapted to be positioned thereupon, a creamengaging stop along one side of said supporting base, a plurality ofdownwardly projecting, spaced blades posi- -ioned above the fixedsupporting base and adapted to clear the movable supporting base, andmeans for drawing them in unison through the ice cream, the stop beingslotted to permit their passage therethrough, the height of the stopabove the .fixed base being sufficientto permit the movable base to beVinserted therebeneath. n

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this lst day of April, 1922. i

r. HUGO REICI-IEL.

IVILLIAM L. NIES.

